Stanley Slipper OAM was born in Rockhampton on the 8th February 1925. He attended All Souls School in Charters Towers. Stan married Joan on 29th March 1948. Stan started work as an apprentice and studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Queensland. He moved to Ipswich to advance his career. He finished his very successful career as the Mechanical Engineer in Charge at the Redbank Railway Workshops.

Stan and Joan have three sons who were all educated at Ipswich Grammar School. This lead Stan to a long stint on the Board of Ipswich Grammar School. He was on the board of IGS for some 27 years, many as Chairman.

Stan joined Ipswich North Rotary Club 28th April 1977. Stan was committed Rotarian and was President in 1981/82 and was awarded a PHF for his service to Rotary. Stan was an active member until his health prevented him from driving and attending meetings. After his retirement from work in the Railways Stan also joined Probus. When Stan retired from Rotary he remained a member of Probus and assisted this club for many years as the liaison for our trailer raffle roster.

Stan was very well liked as a manager in the Railway, admired as leader in the community, a keen golfer, a wonderful husband and family man. He will be remembered fondly by the members of this club and sadly missed by his family.

Rotary Bowelscan Program

This is a Rotary program developed in 1982 in New South Wales and now conducted by Rotary Clubs across Australia.

Bowelscan is primarily a public awareness program seeking to increase community knowledge of bowel cancer and its symptoms as well as making available to the public, faecal occult blood testing kits at an affordable price to facilitate early diagnosis.

Therefore, the aims of the Bowelscan program are to:

•Enhance public awareness through all available media channels of the need of bowel cancer screening for every adult every year, particularly those over the age of 40.

•Provide public access via over-the-counter pharmacy sales or on-line sales through dedicated websites, to affordable faecal occult blood testing kits, including the pathology testing of those kits, on an annual basis.

Bowelscan is a not-for-profit initiative which depends for its effectiveness and success on the voluntary support of a large number of pharmacies, pathology laboratories (in Queensland, Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology) and the participating Rotary Club members.

To maximise the effectiveness of this program, all Rotary Clubs are encouraged to participate, and to find out how this can best be done in District 9630, contact the District 9630 Bowelscan Committee Chairman Elvin Robb at: bowelscan1@rotary9630.org

Over 30 years ago, Rotary made a promise to the world to eradicate polio.When we get there, it will be only the second time that a disease affecting humans has been eradicated.Now we're on the brink of history, thanks to the support of partners like the Gates Foundation. Let's drop to zero Learn more at www.endpolio.org

Shelter Box, Rotary International partner with C&W Foundation

C&W Communications, a Liberty Global company, announced yesterday that ShelterBox and Rotary International will be partnering with the newly formed Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation to execute immediate relief and recovery activities in the countries affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

ShelterBox, an international disaster relief charity specialising in providing emergency shelter for vulnerable families who have lost everything after natural disasters and conflicts, and Rotary International, a global network of 1.2 million neighbours, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who come together to make positive, lasting change in communities across the globe, will use the foundation's funding to continue and accelerate efforts to improve conditions on the ground in impacted territories.

According to a release from the company, the partnerships follow the recent announcement of C&W to establish a regional foundation with initial funding of US$500,000 to focus on urgent humanitarian relief and eventually broader recovery efforts in Anguilla, Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Speaking on the new alliance, Chris Warham, chief executive of ShelterBox, said: “At ShelterBox, we are impatient to help the most vulnerable families who have lost everything in the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Our partnership with Cable & Wireless will play a vital role in ensuring that we can provide essential emergency shelter and tools to the worst-affected communities, giving families the hope and power to recover and begin the journey of rebuilding their lives.”

Among the specially sourced equipment packed into its distinctive green boxes, ShelterBox also provides tents tested in extreme weather, solar lighting for when power is down, water filtration to combat disease, and items to keep families warm and able to cook together. The charity also distributes kits to help people repair their damaged properties, clear ground, and to waterproof roofs.

Rotary International is no stranger to the region as it spans 29 countries and 37 islands in the Caribbean. Through community projects, the organisation has helped to solve real problems with commitment and vision.

According to the release, Rotary members use their passion, energy, and intelligence to take action on sustainable projects. In this instance, Rotary is bringing its members together from across the Caribbean to help roll out programmes to address both immediate relief efforts as well as longer-term recovery initiatives.

“We want to thank Cable & Wireless for its commitment and funding drive across the region,” said Jeremy Hurst, chairman of Rotary International District 7020's Hurricane Relief and Recovery Committee.

Cable & Wireless, meanwhile, said it will continue to expand its partner network as the region's rebuild and recovery needs are developed. Initial efforts will focus on support that gives people and communities that have lost homes, livelihoods and even family, the practical aid, hope, and support to help rebuild their lives. “Rebuilding and recovery from these devastating hurricanes are going to take a concerted and coordinated effort from all of those who can help,” said John Reid, CEO of Cable & Wireless. “We're thrilled that ShelterBox and Rotary, with their expertise and passion for relief deployment, have joined as inaugural partners of the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation. The aim of the foundation is to make an immediate difference in the lives of those affected by disaster, and with Shelter Box.

Sandra was born in the East End of London and considers herself to be a true “cockney”. She emigrated in 1980 with her young family. Sandra has two daughters and 5 grandchildren.

Her career spans nearly 30 years in the community sector and before that she was studying accountancy. Working for a large church organisation she took up positions in both youth work and housing. She has 15 years management experience in housing and homelessness and her roles have expanded to managing other areas such as licensed residential care, disability, domestic violence, drug court program and mental health housing programs.

A key achievement for Sandra was when she won a key tender with Brisbane Housing Company , Department of Housing and Brisbane City Council of 70 units of accommodation – the first complex for affordable housing in Bowen Hills.

Sandra has been able to use all this experience in her current role as Manager of the Laidley Community Centre where she feels she is a “jack of all trades”. With between 800 and 1000 clients each month this is a very busy centre.

Sandra was also treasurer of Hospice many years ago when it operated out of Roderick Street in a small house and remembers her very first overnight patient that she cared for in the house as a volunteer carer, she was also involved in the early stages of the building of Hospice now in Chermside/Robertson Road.

Sandra likes adventure and has jumped out of a plane (with parachute) and also taken flying lessons at Archerfield however chickened out when she had to go solo…… and never went back!!!

Terry was born in Lockhart NSW in 1949. Terry went to school in Wagga and worked in the stock and station agency after leaving school. Terry arrived in Ipswich in 1971 on working holiday. He met his wife Shona and let’s say the rest is history. Terry started work in Shona family business Hoey & Ploetz Electrical, later Betta Electrical and he worked there for 32 years until the business closed in 2005. Terry has short stint in Real Estate before retiring.

Terry joined Apex, a service club for the under 40’s. He followed his Apex journey into Rotary. Terry then joined the Rotary Club of Ipswich North on 21st November 1995 until her retired in December 2014..

Some of Terry’s many positions in the club include

President 2004-05

1996-97 Vocational Service

1998-99 International Service

1999-2000 Secretary

2006-07 Club Services

During his time as President Terry brought the club into the technology age, purchasing a computer and data projector for the club’s use. Terry worked on the implementation of Clubrunner, a program we now use to support our website and weekly bulletin and keep track of Club records and membership.

Terry was awarded Paul Harris Fellowship for his efforts and commitment to Rotary. Terry has continued his community work with the Men’s Shed and has been President of the Men’s Shed for the last 4 years.

Terry has now joined a the very elite group as an Honorary Life Members of the Rotary Club of Ipswich North.

ROTARY LENDS A HAND TO BORDERTOWN’S FAMOUS WHITE KANGAROOS

The Rotary Club of Bordertown has built much-needed shelters for their local sanctuary’s famous mob of white kangaroos.

Local Barry Smith caught a rare, large white buck in 1984 by jumping from his motorcycle and crash-tackling it to the ground after fears hunters would target him as an unusual trophy. Over 50 of his descendants have inherited his remarkable snowy fur over the following decades, an unusually strong expression of the white gene.

The council wished to build shelters to allow the kangaroos to better avoid the elements within their enclosures. However, their current budget did not allow for the requisite manpower - something the Rotary Club was happy to provide.

“There are trees and scrub in the pens but it wasn’t enough for the whole mob to fit under comfortably, so a tin shelter was installed – but the kangaroos wouldn’t go near it. It was too loud when it rained,” said Rotarian Trevor Butler.

It was decided this problem could be avoided by constructing the new shelters from thatching native plants. “A bunch of Rotarians went down to a property in Willalooka with lots broombush, cutting off a trailer load of big bundles. We then built a frame and had to learn how thatch properly. It was a learning curve as we hadn’t done that sort of thing before,” said Trevor.

After all this effort, it wasn’t certain the white kangaroos would take to their new ‘furniture’. However one freezing, rainy day not long after they went up Trevor took a look on his way to work. “Sure enough they were all huddled in the two thatched shelters – and none were in the tin shed.”

Rotary plans on building additional shelters for the two other paddocks the roos are rotated through, and is discussing further involvement in sanctuary maintenance and expanding the operation. Councilor and Rotarian Ken McInerney commented, “Bordertown’s white kangaroos are one of our largest tourist draw cards, making a big impact on our local economy. They are also wonderful ambassadors for native wildlife, drawing attention to its beauty and uniqueness.”

Australian Rotarians are busy assisting wildlife throughout the world. The Rotary Nest Box Project has provided over 5000 nest boxes for native birds and mammals to replace hollows destroyed through deforestation. The Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species cares for orphaned pygmy elephants in Borneo and now heads up education programs in an effort to conserve the species – of which only 1500 individuals remain.

This year’s Rotary International President, Australian Ian Riseley, has placed emphasis on conservation. “The time is long past when environmental sustainability can be dismissed as not Rotary’s concern. It is, and must be, everyone’s concern,” he said.

Overcoming Ebola, poverty to educate children in Liberia

By Samuel R. Enders, Rotary Club of Yonkers-East Yonkers, New York, USA

On the 1st of July, the African Dream Academy successfully concluded our 2016-17 academic year, our sixth year educating the children of Liberia. Despite lingering effects of the Ebola outbreak (2014-15) in our country and many other poverty-related obstacles, we were able to educate 945 children this year, and provide free health care to 17,000 children under the age of six.

This year’s graduates.

In 2011, the African Dream Academy began an enrichment class for about 140 students at the fourth grade level. This year, among our 945 students, we graduate 78 kindergartners to first grade, 57 sixth graders to seventh grade, and we are getting ready to add ninth grade for the 2017-18 academic year. It is unbelievable that we have been able to do this with a very small number of people willing to sacrifice to help educate these children, many of whom they do not know or have not met.

Our board member Mr. Moses and his family have provided free health care for children through six years of age at the Childrens Health Center. Through his support, the African Dream Academy established the only free health care for children that age anywhere in our country.

Hunted for body parts and isolated by fear, Tanzanians with albinism find safe futures with help of Rotary, Sister Martha

It’s the peak of the afternoon in Nyamizeze, Tanzania, and Martha Mganga is in her element.

Better known as Sister Martha, the 54-year-old Rotary community advocate is one of her country’s most prolific campaigners for the rights of people with albinism, the often-misunderstood, inherited condition characterized by abnormally light skin, eyes, and hair, limited vision, and extreme sensitivity to the sun.

Mganga, an albino herself, has spent three decades helping those with the condition get an education, protect themselves from harmful ultraviolet rays, and fight pervasive myths and stigmas, including false beliefs, propagated by rogue witch doctors, that albino body parts can bring good luck or fortune.

The second phase will use these findings to inform the development of an appropriate audiologist-administered psychologically-informed intervention (e.g. self-help take-home material, counselling protocol etc.). A feasibility study will be conducted to determine the practicality of the intervention within a clinical setting and pilot its effectiveness.

Project Summary

Hearing loss significantly hinders communication ability; can be detrimental to familial, social and professional relationships, and ltimately lead to social isolation. Not surprisingly then, research has shown strong associations between hearing loss and reduced mental health and wellbeing. Devices that improve hearing ability, like hearing aids, somewhat help to improve communication ability, but research shows that significant mental health and wellbeing challenges remain. What is not known is how hearing care professionals (audiologists) can provide services, beyond hearing devices, that improve mental health and wellbeing related to hearing loss. This project aims to explore how hearing care services can be provided in a way that more effectively addresses mental health and wellbeing, beyond hearing devices, in order to optimise the wellbeing of older adults with hearing loss and their families. The study will be conducted in two phases. The first phase will use interviews to explore older adults’ views of their mental wellbeing throughout their experience of hearing care. Audiologists will also be surveyed about their experiences discussing mental health with their patients and their preparedness for providing a psychologically-informed intervention.

Researcher Profile

Emma has also worked as a research assistant at Cochlear Limited where she has conducted assessments of cochlear implant recipients for a number of studies.

Emma Laird is a PhD candidate in The School of Audiology and Speech Pathology at the University of Melbourne. Her field of research incorporates her experience in both audiology and psychology. Emma Laird graduated from a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) at Monash University in 2011 and a Master of Clinical Audiology at the University of Melbourne in 2016. Her thesis investigated cochlear implantation outcomes in patients treated with radiation therapy for head and neck cancers.

Annually the Rotary Club of Ipswich North offer the opportunity for secondary school students in the Ipswich region to take part in a public speaking competition, Youth Speak. The competition has been a highlight of the Rotary calendar for over 20 years.

Rotary International has an ongoing commitment to Youth, as they are the future, not only for the world but also for Rotary. For this reason, each year the topic chosen is the theme for the particular Rotary year, as is nominated by the Rotary International President. This year RI President John Germ has chosen the theme “Rotary Serving Humanity”.

Eight students spoke for 4 minutes on this topic on Tuesday 18th October at the Rotary Club’s weekly meeting. The students were each able to incorporate their own thoughts and views while reflecting on the achievements of Rotarian around the world. The competition has not only honed the students public speaking skills, it has also extended their knowledge of Rotary and its programs.

Students from West Moreton Anglican College, St Mary’s College, Springfield Central State High School, Rosewood State High School, Ipswich Grammar School, Ipswich Girls Grammar School, Bundamba State Secondary College and Bremer State High School competed in the competition. Youth Speak was adjudicated by a highly qualified Toastmaster Ms Cheryl Lukritz. Ms Lukritz praised all the students for their efforts and stated she had a very difficult task in deciding the prize winners.

First place this year was awarded to Madelene Taylor from Ipswich Girls Grammar School while second place went to Ethan Gallagher from Springfield Central State High School. Ethan is only in Year 8; the Rotary Club looks forward to Ethan attending many more Youth Speak competitions over the coming years. Third place was awarded to Emma Clayton from St Mary’s College.

President Sandra Logue presented certificates to all competitors and the prizes to the winners of the competition. She offered her sincere congratulations to all students and thanked the schools for their support. The Rotary Club of Ipswich North look forward to conducting the completion again in 2017.

Former work colleagues and engineers in guest speaker John and Maurie checking out yet another hole - this one in the helmet of John's father when he was injured, only, in battle against Japanese in PNG.

How proud we all felt listen to Katelin tell us her story and how we as Rotarians were part of that story.

National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) is a project that Ipswich North has support over many years. Well back in 2006 we received a nomination from a student at West Moreton Anglican College to attend the 2007 NYSF. President Richard Horne and his board approved the application and now the rest is history.

This is what appears on Katelin's Linkedin page as part of her profile.

Samuel Frobisher Owori, a Ugandan businessman and a member of the Rotary Club of Kampala, will become president-nominee on 1 October.

The 2016-17 Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International has unanimously nominated Samuel Frobisher Owori, of the Rotary Club of Kampala, Uganda, to be the president of Rotary International in 2018-19. He will be declared the president-nominee on 1 October if no challenging candidates have been suggested.

Owori says he sees in Rotary "an incredible passion to make a difference." As president, he plans to "harness that enthusiasm and pride so that every project becomes the engine of peace and prosperity."

Owori's chief concerns as a Rotary leader are membership and extension. Since he served as district governor, the number of clubs in Uganda has swelled from nine to 89. He urges past, present, and future leaders to work together to engage more women, youth program participants, alumni, and community members to increase Rotary's membership in the coming years.

"There are many places which need Rotary and numerous potential members who have never been invited," he says. "The problem is Rotarians who got in and closed the doors."

Owori is chief executive officer of the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda. Before that, he was executive director of the African Development Bank, managing director of Uganda Commercial Bank Ltd., and director of Uganda Development Bank. He has studied law, employment relations, business management, corporate resources management, microfinance, and marketing at institutions in England, Japan, Switzerland, Tanzania, and the United States, including Harvard Business School.

Since becoming a member in 1978, Owori has served Rotary as regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, regional RI membership coordinator, RI Representative to the United Nations Environment Program and UN-Habitat, and RI director. He has been a member or chair of several committees, including the International PolioPlus Committee, the Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, and the Audit Committee. Most recently, Owori served as trustee of The Rotary Foundation, chair of The Rotary Foundation's Finance Committee, and a member of the Investment Committee. Owori is a Benefactor of The Rotary Foundation, and he and his wife, Norah, are Major Donors and Paul Harris Fellows.

Rotary recommits to ending polio in Nigeria

The World Health Organization has confirmed two cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in Nigeria, the first cases in the country since July 2014. After passing a year without a case of the wild poliovirus, Nigeria was removed from the list of polio-endemic countries in September 2015. These cases – from two local government areas of Borno state – occurred in July 2016.

The Government of Nigeria – in partnership with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative – will take immediate steps to respond quickly to the outbreak to prevent further spread of the disease. This response will include emergency vaccination campaigns to boost immunity in impacted and at-risk areas, and reinforced surveillance activities to ensure we detect all strains of polio. Because polio knows no borders, steps will also be taken to protect surrounding countries, to ensure all children are vaccinated and to reduce the risk of the spread of the disease.

This news is disappointing for all Rotary members - and particularly those in Nigeria - who worked so hard to help the country stop polio. However, Rotary remains steadfast and fully committed to fighting polio anywhere children remain at risk, including Nigeria and Africa.

Rotary members remain resilient in the face of challenges. Today, we roll up our sleeves and redouble our effort to rid the world of this devastating disease. Rotary members in Nigeria are already hard at work to support the outbreak response, and our network will also be tapped to quickly protect children in surrounding countries.

The World Health Organization is confident Nigeria can end polio. The program has overcome outbreaks before, and we have the tools to do so again in Nigeria. Rotary will not stop its efforts to ensure that every child is born into a polio-free world where they are safe from this paralyzing disease.

WEEKLY UPDATE

Our guest speaker for last Tuesday did a failed to appear, something more concerning came up and we bumped for the night, no matter it was a good meeting anyway with plenty of fellowship and good humor.

PP Cheryl Kermond was able to pass out our Park 2 Park ‘sample bags” with all who volunteered getting a job.

So next Tuesday we will be able to report how successful we were at Park2 Park.

PP Cheryl also gave us a update on bookings for the trailer raffle, and I must say things are shaping up quite well on that front. All we need is a good strong group of ticket sellers and transport agents. 2016 Trailer Raffle will be our best yet, well it will be if we all pitch in a help.

PP Richard Horne will be back with us soon so it will all guns blazing as we kick start the Emergency Officer of the Year Awards.

Rotary changes travel company

The connection between Raptim and Rotary will allow them to offer more services and support to those traveling on Rotary business.

"In selecting Raptim, we found an agency that shared our DNA and understood how best to meet the needs of our volunteers and staff," says Robert Mintz, Rotary's global travel manager.

Rotarians will work with Raptim to arrange Rotary-related travel through Rotary International Travel Service, known as RITS, beginning 24 June.

"We are honored to collaborate with such a prestigious organization as Rotary International," says Raptim's managing director, Bart Kruijsen. "Rotary endeavors to create lasting change in communities around the world, and Raptim gets Rotary's people where they are needed most."

Raptim is a full-service travel management company dedicated to meeting the needs of humanitarian organizations. For more than 67 years, Raptim has specialized in complex itineraries, urgent response, technology solutions, and data and risk management. It has served more than 300,000 humanitarian travelers.

Raptim operates offices in Europe, North America, Africa, and Australia, with headquarters in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

Here is how to contact Raptim for Rotary travel originating in Australia and New Zealand:

We have a few members that are currently enjoying travelling far and wide. From President in waiting Sandra now according to facebook posts in England and at end of great trip covering also Finland, Russia, Denmark, Venice, Rome, Greek Islands, Athens and Turkey which in light of the recent upheaval was fortunately some tome ago. I see she has just been to the Beatles museum in Liverpool and from photo below looks ready to rock n roll. I'm sure we can look forward to some interesting tales of her journey.

Meanwhile we have Richard and Jenny Horne now tripping about Emerald Isle section of their UK trip and taking in the Irish dancers and music.

And then there are the McGuires on a white line fever road trip which has taken them to Weipa before heading up the Cape. As Maurie reports - "Have attached a quick pic of the happy couple....so far. Heading off to the tip with James and Lisa tomorrow. No fishing done as yet. Will visit Thursday Island on a Monday....would have been better to plan it for a Thursday I thought later. Then a big long drive back south to be at Hinchinbrook Island on 25-29 then home.

Last night’s guest speaker, Russ Wright, in my view, opened our eye to a new way of connecting with those in our community who need support.

The Vital Projex program is one that, from what we witnessed last night in genuinely changing people’s lives.

The Vital Projex program is a youth education program designed for the young at risk.

Vital Projex has recognised that we need to be more involved with youth and offer support and understanding. In the past year 2500 young people aged between 15 and 44 years old attempted suicide, with many of these being successful. Current estimates indicate that 4million youth now suffer from depression and are nine times more likely to attempt self-harm then the youth of twenty-five years ago, we need to something.

Vital Projex offers a positive program that produces positive values.

Previous youth intervention programs that the young person out of their “normal” environment and runs them through a progress that “corrects’ their behaviors and attitudes, however, once they return to what they would consider “normal” the old ways return.

The Vital Projex program sets out to bring about attitudinal and behavioral change within the existing environment. The current results indicate that this program is working. However; Russ did note that a quantity of academic data capture is required before any conclusive results can be acknowledged.

Given the anecdotal results currently being achieved I am sure it will not be long before the Vital Projex Program is adopted by most schools and other similar support networks as part of the curriculum.

Pride of Workmanship is a Rotary Vocational Service Project and Ipswich North Rotary Club has elected to annually honour the man and women of the Police and Emergency Services. The Annual Dinner was held on Friday 1st April at the Ipswich Civic Centre with over 150 guests in attendance.

The 2015 Winners are:

SES Member of the Year: Sandra Hanel

SES Community Member of the Year: John McVeigh

SES Peer Officer of the Year: John Paul

Rural Fire Officer of the Year: Neale Loveday

Rural Fire Community Officer of the Year: Pam Anderson

Rural Fire Peer Officer of the Year: Jed Lindley

Fire & Emergency Officer of the Year: Des Sardie

Fire & Emergency Community Officer of the Year: Daniel Skillern and Sean Toohill

ShelterBox has aid on Fiji and is mobilising a response team as Cyclone Winston bears down

A category 5 ‘megastorm’ tropical cyclone has made landfall in the Pacific nation of Fiji. UK disaster relief agency ShelterBox already has aid stored on the islands, and is mobilising teams and aid from New Zealand and Australia

A destructive tropical cyclone is bearing down on the Pacific archipelago of Fiji, with destructive winds and an intensity rating that meteorologists are calling‘nearly off the charts’. Tropical Cyclone Winston is a worst case scenario for Fiji — a Category 5 storm that is expected to directly hit the most populated island and the capital, Suva later today.

Cornwall-based emergency shelter agency ShelterBox has some aid already positioned in Fiji, and can call for more supplies from its bases in Auckland and Melbourne when transport arrangements can be safely made.

Operations Manager Alf Evans says, ‘We will be sending a team as soon as it is safe to do so, hopefully on Sunday or Monday. Our New Zealand and Australia affiliates are standing by, and we are considering the use of a partner charity that uses superyachts to reach isolated areas. We also have Rotary associates on the islands, so are getting first-hand accounts of events as they unfold.’

‘Everything depends on the course of Cyclone Winston over the next few hours, and the damage it causes to sea and air transport links.’

Thousands have already fled their homes, and the Fiji government has warned of a widespread threat to property and lives. Flights have been cancelled and there is an expectation of harbours being smashed and trees uprooted.

Cyclone Winston took an unusual path, winding through the South Pacific and crossing over a single island twice, then turning back on itself. It passed over Tonga island as a weaker category 2 storm, but has since strengthened in force.

The Fijian government has compared the storm to Cyclone Pam, which devastated the islands of Vanuatu last year. Winds of over 200mph and heavy rainfall of up to 15.7 inches are expected for the coming hours. There are around 700 evacuation centres across the islands, mostly school buildings and community centres, and residents have been advised to use them if their homes become unsafe. The National Disaster Management announced a total public curfew from 6pm in an effort to restrict movement and improve safety.

Authorities also advised members of the public living in low-lying regions in the North to move to higher ground as the cyclone intensifies. Storm surge from Winston is a particular worry for Fiji, where rising sea levels and coastal erosion have already displaced communities.

Fiji includes more than 320 islands, volcanic outcrops and coral atolls. Many are inhabited, but inaccessible and very vulnerable to high tides.

Health care workers in Liberia attend a workshop conducted by Rotary members on new techniques for treating pregnant women with HIV/AIDS.

The impact of an HIV/AIDS vocational training project in Liberia can be assessed by the ultimate measure: life itself.

“There are children of HIV mothers living today who would not have seen their first birthdays [without the training],” says Elizabeth Mulbah, a member of the Rotary Club of Sinkor, Montserrado County, Monrovia, who delivered a lecture for health care providers about HIV/AIDS during the vocational training team’s five-day workshop in 2012.

The goal of the team -- comprised of individuals from the Los Altos Rotary AIDS Project in California, USA; the Rotary Club of Sinkor; St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital in Monrovia; Global Strategies for HIV Prevention, and the Center for HIV Information at the University of California, San Francisco -- was to increase maternal HIV/AIDS services and to improve the quality of care in Liberian clinics.

Nearly 60 health care workers in Montserrado and neighboring Bomi counties learned techniques to prevent mother-child transmission of HIV and to improve their ability to diagnose and treat infected women. They also were taught how to pass along the information to other health care workers.

Now, a Rotary Foundation global grant is facilitating an expansion of the project to other parts of Liberia.

Mulbah says that technology played a crucial role in the outcome of the 2012 training. PowerPoint presentations and a computer lab were used to communicate messages effectively, and participants were given flash drives with the latest information about HIV/AIDS.

“They took this learning back to their clinics and conducted much more effective workshops for pregnant women,” she adds.

Rich Casey, president of the Los Altos Rotary AIDS Project, brought computers to Liberia for the training. Even though the group was sleeping in an area protected by guards, robbers broke in one night and stole every computer but one. The workshop went on nonetheless, and proved a success.

Both before and after training, participants were tested on their medical knowledge, and the post-training test scores jumped nearly 20 percent.

And more women are receiving antenatal care, Mulbah says. Husbands now accompany their wives to maternal clinics, and follow-up visits to clinics by people who have AIDS have increased.

The importance of projects like this one will be highlighted once again with the observance of World AIDS Day, on 1 December. According to the United Nations about 2,000 Liberians died of AIDS in 2014 and roughly 33,000 people out of the country’s population of 4.3 million have been infected by the HIV virus; the majority live in urban areas like Monrovia, the country’s capital.

Following the success of the 2012 project, Casey helped procure a $192,500 Rotary Foundation global grant to expand the training to other areas of Liberia. But last year’s Ebola outbreak put the project on hold, and only now is it starting to be implemented.

During the earlier project, Casey had been particularly pleased by the way that the various groups and their members - including Dr. Arthur Ammann, founder of Global Strategies for HIV Prevention and one of the world’s leading pediatric immunologists - came together to plan the workshop a year in advance to achieve the best results.

“It was a good example of Rotary working well with other organizations,” he says.

On the final day of that inaugural workshop, Mulbah handed out certificates of completion to the participants.

“I felt excited and grateful,” she says. “I was very thankful, believing that our mothers and sisters infected by HIV would now receive improved care, and that there was increased hope and opportunity for life without HIV/AIDS for their unborn children.”

QUETTA: Ulema and prayer leaders in Quetta region have agreed to play their role in making the polio eradication campaign a success by persuading parents to get their children vaccinated against the crippling disease.

They made this announcement at a conference organised by the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), Balochistan, at Sikandar Jamili hall in the provincial secretariat.

An official of the United Nations Children’s Fund, Shapur Suleman, briefed the participants on the high-risk areas and the children vulnerable to the disease.

Mr Rehman urged the clerics to create awareness among the masses about the importance of polio vaccination. “People listen to ulema and follow them. Therefore, they should get involved in the polio drive and fulfil their social responsibility as the future of our children is at stake.”

He said that parents’ refusal to get their children vaccinated was the main hurdle in eradicating polio from Balochistan. “Many parents refuse to allow health workers to administer vaccination drops to their children during the campaign on religious grounds and on the basis of vague arguments.

The ulema, he said, could use their Friday sermons to spread awareness. He said parents did not have the right to deny polio drops because unvaccinated children were more at the risk of contracting the disease.

Dr Rehman urged people and ulema to observe social boycott of those parents who refused to get their children vaccinated because such parents by their act had made other children prone to the disease.

The ulema announced their support for the efforts to curb polio and said that parents opposing the vaccination on religious grounds were unaware about Islamic teachings.

The prayers leaders assured the meeting that they would spread awareness about the vaccination during daily prayers’ congregations and in Friday sermons.

DanDaLion Friends is an organisation formed by the Bray family.Using the example of Dan’s life journey and interaction with the community, the organisation is looking to be a catalyst and inspiration for others like him. Our aim is to be an on line and on the ground resource that brings the community together. We are starting small, with limited resources, but thanks to the support of many, who are now part of the ever growing DanDaLion Friends community, we are making this organisation a reality.

Dan and many others like him don’t have a disability, they just have a different ability, and hence we have coined the word ‘diffability’.

We want DanDaLion Friends to celebrate and demonstrate the value that those with a diffability give to the community.

This organisation aims to build a support friendships community.

Thanks Rotarian Liz Quinn for getting the Club involved with this inspiring organisation.

We look forward to more interaction with this group.

Thanks to Jackson Auld for being such an inspiration to your peers.

FANTASTIC.

This is what being a Rotarian is all about.

THANK YOU MESSAGE

Hi Liz,

It was amazing to just turn up there yesterday, not having to worry about a single thing regarding food etc , knowing that there was the best and most experienced crew in World Rotary BBQ’ing history in attendance.

Jackson told me to say thatJ but I now know it to be true.

Seriously Liz, from all of the team, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being there and contributing to a day that made a difference to so many young people and parents. Of course the donation of food and your time was amazing.

As I mentioned yesterday we would love to take you up on your offer to ‘adopt’ us and will keep you informed of future events that have a similar element of cooking to it. Our events are planned to be monthly but they will have a different theme each time.

If you can pass on to the crew this thank you it would be appreciated and please feel free to contact me re that request to speak at your function or whatever. You have my mobile as best contact.